"How could someone with such power and access to inside information be so wrong? Is it possible that it was not merely a mistake but an excuse to invade Iraq? If so, he should be treated as a war criminal, not a foreign policy pundit," she said on July 16. "At a minimum, he was grossly unqualified to be Vice President of the United States ..."

(The Press TV commentary posted with her audio statement omits the conditional aspect of her assertion that Cheney was a war criminal.)

Below is the full transcript of Carla Howell's July 17, 2014 statement to Press TV:

The real question is: Why does CNN, and the US media, continue to give any significance to what former VP Dick Cheney has to say?

Cheney was a primary instigator of the destabilizing and destructive war in Iraq.

Cheney was the man who insisted there were Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) that he claimed presented a threat to the United States — which his administration had to sheepishly recant within a few years after thorough investigation showed that no such threat existed.

How could someone with such power and access to inside information be so wrong? Is it possible that it was not merely a mistake but an excuse to invade Iraq? If so, he should be treated as a war criminal, not a foreign policy pundit.

At a minimum, he was grossly unqualified to be vice president of the United States and has no legs to stand on to judge presidents Carter or Obama.

It should be noted, however, that Obama is equally guilty for staying in Iraq, for surging in Afghanistan, and for intervening and flirting with even larger interventions in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Gaza. He should know better.

The Libertarian Party calls for a non-interventionist foreign policy of peace, open borders, and free trade. If any of our last dozen presidents had abided by such a policy, there would likely be far less conflict in the Middle East; far fewer, if any, threats of terrorism instigated by foreigners; and many lives would have been saved — both of American servicemen and women, and war victims around the world.

Over 20 Libertarian candidates running for federal office this year have called for downsizing the U.S. military by at least 60 percent, closing all foreign military bases, withdrawing completely from the Middle East, and bringing our troops home. This is the way we'll achieve peace on earth.

The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971. Our vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.